Sleep troubles

[Boymom3]

My 9 year old says he’s having trouble sleeping. He takes 20 mg Ritalin at 7am and another dose at 11am. It should be out of his system by 3 or 4 pm, but the past week he’s had trouble. I gave him a melatonin supplement but he said it didn’t help. Any tips??

[Love11]

Hi my son also has problems going to bed at night. He is also on medication. He told me that he just can’t stop thinking about things so I downloaded a meditation app on my phone for kids. So at night we do our regular routine and also add the meditation time fir about 15 minutes. And it seems to help. Hope this helps😊good luck.

[sarahchiov]

I’m not sure how Ritalin compares to Focalin, but our 9 year old son was having trouble sleeping too. His meds wore off around 4 in the afternoon. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but adding another dose that took him up to bedtime did the trick. It wasn’t intentional, we actually added it to help him get through his homework and extra-curricular activities, but it wears off just as he’s going to bed. He experiences a little crash at that time and I think since his overactive brain is not overactive, it helps him drop off to deep sleep and he sleeps through the night. Before he was having trouble falling asleep, AND he was waking up at 2 and not getting back to sleep until many times 5. The second dose of meds has fixed both. We also tried melatonin, with mixed results. It sometimes would help a little getting him to fall asleep, but not consistently. And in our case, melatonin did not help because it only helps you fall asleep, it doesn’t keep you asleep.

[Cjkchamp]

My son seems to do better when pressure is applied to him at bedtime. Right now I just lay down with him and apply body pressure, but I would like a weighted blanket. I was told it should be 10% of the child’s weight but also read on one of the sites it should be 10% plus 1 lb. My sister said she even saw them on the bed bath and beyond site, but I haven’t checked yet. Just an idea, good luck!

[Ann-on-a-Moose]

My daughter is 8 and she had terrible trouble sleeping, she said she could feel spiders crawling all over her body and she could see things in moving in the room in the dark. I removed all the teddies she complained about and got her a nightlight and a torch under her pillow, but still no sleep. I had read about a weighted blanket but they looked expensive. A chance find in a charity shop solved the problem, I bought the crocheted cotton blanket as a throw but when I carried it away I realised it was quite heavy and sure enough as soon as she had the blanket on her bed she went straight to sleep and that is the fastest she has gone to sleep in years There is also a DIY weighted blanket, using bags of rice on youtube if you aren't up to crocheting

[510Wins]

Regarding the weighted blanket: I actually was curious about the blanket helping my 3.5 yr old. He’s not formally diagnosed but his ped mentioned traits have appeared... and I’ve noticed as well.

So, after researching what the correct weight is for him. I found a nice blanket on sale (amazon). It arrived last night! It’s a Small (5 lbs) - 32"x42" by Yorkville Blanket Co.

As soon as I pulled it out of the box I was amazed by the quality and weight of this blanket! I walked over to my husband to show him what a weighted blanket was and I just laid it on his lap. My husband said “Wow this is comfy”... and fell asleep within 10 minutes!

Then, today after me and my son came home from pre-school, I said let’s sit on the couch and watch a show. He ran over and hopped up on the couch next to me. That’s when I said to him “Let’s use your new blanket”! THIS thing worked like magic! My son stayed seated for an HOUR!!!!!!! This hasn’t happened since he was a newborn! Lol

I asked myself, could this blanket really be helping him this much Or did the moon and stars align in some way that lead to a calm afternoon? LOL!

Having it on my lap reminds me of my Grandma’s old thick and heavy quilt that was so comfortable...

So, I thought I’d share my experience with our new “ADDition” tool we acquired. This was a great purchase for us.

[Boymom3 in reply to 510Wins]

I have weighted blankets for my twin boys. They came to us through foster care at 3 yo and one of them would rock and bang his head on the headboard until he fell asleep. The other would rock side to side so hard it sounded like the bed was going to break. The blankets helped immediately. My 9 year old though, he gets really hot. He seems to be doing better. Hoping he just had a few nights of trouble randomly.

[Adam081911 in reply to 510Wins]

Hi 510Wins- I am curious if the Yorkville weighted blanket becomes hot during this hot summer weather. I'm not sure if my 6 y.o. doesn't fall sleep because of the heat or sensory issue.... sometimes he won't go to sleep for 2 hours!!!

[Onthemove1971 in reply to 510Wins]

I have also seen these Vests used with great success during day time in school.

amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001UU9M...

Good luck

[SuzetteIClarke in reply to Onthemove1971]

Also - don’t necessarily give up on melatonin

Try Ozzz children’s on Amazon. This is the only type that worked for us and several friends. I even take It! occasionally. I think it may be because it also contains magnesium and camomile which are both helpful. It’s a super low dose but seems to work better then high dose.

Im off to but a weighted blanket too based on these suggestions. Great practical advice. Thank you